Inovação Frugal em Serviços Bancários de uma Agência Cashless: O Caso de uma Cooperativa de Crédito Brasileira

The Evolutionary Theory of Innovation (EIT) defines technological advancement as essential for human progress and looks to explain how innovations arise and change society. The constant socioeconomic transformations reveal the need for reinvention. Frugal innovation stands out for integrating sustainable economic, environmental, and social values in the production and provision of goods and services. In emerging countries, where there is a considerable number of people without access to financial services, credit unions are distinguished by having social, regional, and economic sustainability as a principle. In this context, this article aimed to investigate how frugal innovations in banking services are implemented by a credit union, where an in-depth case study was conducted. The results showed the dimensions of substantial cost reduction, essential functionalities, and sustainability of the frugal innovation ecosystem in financial services. Frugal innovation promoted digital and financial inclusion, while ecosystem sustainability showed a decisive relationship for innovation to happen. Original contributions from the study's conceptual model show that the stages of innovation are cyclical and that there is a phase of incremental improvements. I conclude that frugal innovation in financial services enabled the financial inclusion of consumers outside the hegemonic banking system.